30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 21

Day 21: Picture of Yourself

Since today is Halloween, I decided to do Halloween pictures for pictures of myself!

We begin with a pictures circa 1995. This would be the year I was...well, I'll let you try and guess.

Did you guess? I was an...orange ghost. Yes. A ghost. That is orange. With "scary makeup". I apparently didn't really get the whole ghost thing. Like, the whole they're transparent or white thing. But, can you really blame me? I didn't really watch scary movies.

And fast forward 15ish years to 2010.

I was a ladybug for Halloween this year. We went to the Fall Festival and I took pictures for our photo booth. Fun, fun.

These were scanned in from my photobooth pictures. Sorry for the not-so-great quality!

Mom and me. :)

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 20

So, apparently I forgot to blog yesterday. I somehow got caught up in the busyness known as Friday. So, I guess that I'll just skip Day 19. Whatever.

In other news, Desi's football team made it past the first round of playoffs. AND...my high school team beat Dothan last night for the last regular season game. We're down to AU tonight and my mini heart attacks can end.  
Come on Auburn, beat Ole Miss!

Day 20: Nicknames

I have a couple different nicknames. Some make sense, some don't really.

At church, I'm known as either Lala or Miss Lauren. Most often, the kiddos call me Lala. It all started with one family at church that I babysit. They have a cousin named Lauren that they call Lala...so naturally that carried on to me. Eventually other kids heard them call me Lala...and even some of the adults call me Lala. Hey- it's all fun! :)

Love these kids. :)

My brothers call me Sissy. Which makes since because I am their sister after all. I love the fact that I am Sissy; I think it's such a southern thing. And when I have kids of my own, the oldest girl will be called Sissy. It's just something I like. :)

And...lastly, my parents call me Pumpkinhead. Yes, I know it's slightly crazy. I mean, it's really pretty unflattering. I don't like to think I'm orange or that I have a big head. It all goes back to my first Halloween or something like that. And since...I've been their pumpkinhead. Way to come up with a pet name Mom and Dad. Way. To. Go. Couldn't call me cupcake or something, could you? Pumpkinhead. Yep. That's me. 

Circa 1996

Tomorrow's Halloween! I'm excited. Can't wait to wear my costume and be a ladybug! :)

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 18

Firstly, I'd like to tell the world that my "baby" is growing up. My brother Max turned 13 today, and well, that makes me officially O-L-D. I remember the day he was born and now he is a teenager. Wow.

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Day 18: Something You Regret.

I haven't done a lot that I regret. I mean, yeah, sometimes I regret something that I do like gossiping about someone or getting irritated with my Mom, but, I really don't have any big, major regrets. I haven't done anything too horrible, and I'm really a pretty good girl. 

I think if I had to say I regretted something it would be the amount of pressure I placed on myself to succeed in high school. I never really got out there and lived life. I pretty much stayed to myself and focused on getting through, getting out, and graduating with a phenomenal GPA. And when I didn't succeed in something, I felt like I was failing.

I first really started the whole blogging thing my freshman year in High School. I had a Xanga (does anyone remember those?) and did the whole blogging thing on that. It's really funny to look back and see what I wrote about. It was quite ridiculous. Then, I moved up into the wonderful world of MySpace and blogged on that. I plan on eventually transferring some of the posts over (at least the MySpace ones) to this blog so that I can have something to look back on. But, for now, I'm just going to post an excerpt from a post I wrote on May 12, 2008. I wrote it at the end of my senior year...and I think that's when I really realized what I had done. Going through High School just with the mission of getting out. 

Honors Day is tommorrow.

Last day of school is Friday.

Graduation is one week and one day away.

Its all moving so fast, and though on one hand- I can't wait

The other side of me just wants it to all slow down.

I mean, people have told me so much this year just to slow down-

These are the best days/weeks/months/year of your life.

I'm beginning to think I wasted it.

I mean, we're making all these plans.

Plans to get together-

Never lose touch.

But, somehow, I think we still will.

Try as hard as we can, our friendships will never be the same.

These days are over and gone.

What we have now, we'll never get back.

All the time we've (I've) wasted in the books, stressing out over AP

can NEVER be gotten back.

Every 60 seconds we spend upset is a minute of happiness we never get back.

So, here's my plan.

Make the most of the time I have left.

***Spend with fam[ily]- I love you guys to death. I mean it. Even when I get upset. I still love you,Mommy...Daddy....Maxy....and Desi.

***Spend with friends- I love you guys too...you're the ones I'll miss the most. Somehow I'll have to find a map to Tuscaloosa to see my Bama buddies...and Faulkner isn't that far away, I guess. But, really. Let's make this a summer to remember. I know we're all going places and working and such, but I'll make time for you if you make time for me. :]

*** Stop stressing- I think I have this one taken care of thanks to senioritis....but I'll put it one here for good measure.

Really. I'm gonna miss every last one of you. I think its finally setting in that its...almost...over. :[

So, will you help me? Let's make the time we have left together count. :]

-May 12, 2008

That's all for right now. :)

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 17

Day 17: Something You're Looking Forward To

1. I have a really cute halloween costume that I'm really excited to wear on Sunday. I'm going to be a ladybug! Yay for being able to fit into tween costumes that are a tad bit longer. I mean, I am wearing it to church for a fall festival and all! 

2. I am looking forward to receiving my order from elisejoy on Etsy! She is having a big sale this week on different items in honor of her approaching her 2000th sale. I got three prints and I plan on framing them to put in my room/dorm room/whatever I'm living in this Spring. 

3. I'm looking forward to getting all of this school stuff worked out! I am hoping to transfer this Spring to Huntingdon College in Montgomery. Of course, this all depends on stuff transferring, financial aid, etc. I've been ACCEPTED, I'm just waiting on all the kinks to work themselves out. I have a meeting with an admissions advisor tomorrow, so hopefully I will feel more confident after that. 

4. I'm looking forward to getting to hear BETH MOORE two times this winter. I am going to a Deeper Still Conference in December with Mom and her friends...then, I am going to the Passion Conference in Atlanta in January with some friends. Francis Chan is also going to be at this one. So, basically, I'm really excited. 

5. I'm looking forward to the days getting colder and being able to wear jackets and boots and bundling up all nice and warm. Oh- and hot chocolate with marshmallows. And Christmas and Christmas trees and candy canes and all of the other fun stuff that comes with the cold weather. Like...footie pajamas. I mean, really. I can't wear footie pajamas when it's 90 degrees at the end of October. That's just not cool.

Yes. I know. We're weird. And apparently have no shame. But you can't
say you've experienced "The Christmas Light Tour of Montgomery" without
tacky Christmas lights, Hot Cocoa, and footie pajamas. It just isn't right.

And...that's Day 17! Come back tomorrow to read...what I regret! Uh oh! :)

and this is how we do it...

I made a pie today.

And by making a pie, I mean, making the crust, rolling it out, peeling the apples, and mixing all the ingredients together. 

It's hard work you know.

But, the church Fall Festival is coming up on Sunday and I signed up to make a cake for the cake auction. And by cake, I decided I should make a pie (a scrumptious apple pie). I wanted to make a homemade pie (and crust) for that, so I decided I should experiment with one for Bible Group tonight. Just to make sure it all turns out right.

I made Pioneer Woman's "Scrumptious Apple Pie" and her "Perfect Pie Crust" using the recipe she has her website. I made the pie before and it turned out really good. This time, I left out the pecans. I feel uncomfortable making a pie for church with nuts since I know so many people that have nut allergies. I just figured that it would be for the best.

And the verdict is that it is good. It was definitely worth the effort to make the pie crust. It turned out flaky and had kind of a nutty taste (I had to use 1/2 whole wheat flour in the crust because I ran out of regular and didn't want to run up to the store in the middle!) and tasted pretty good! I'll be making it again on Saturday, so hopefully that one will turn out good, too. Now, I just have to find a cute pie plate to make it in. You know, everything tastes better in a cute pie plate! :)

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 16

Day 16: Dream Home

Some people dream of building their own home. I'm not one of those people. My dream is to do a "fixer upper". (You know, where you buy an older house and fix it up). There are several homes downtown in the city I live in that I like. 

Real house in my town. It's actually the house where Big Fish was filmed,
if you're familiar with that movie.

And after I got this dream house, I would have to decorate it, of course. I actually have a book that I where I cut things out of magazines and catalogs and all and paste them in there. So, I do have a plan for it and all. :)

Picture from raechelmyers.blogspot.com-- so not mine!

I really like the whole modern-but-not-too-modern thing. I like color- and I like it bright. And monograms. I love some monograms. But, I think the biggest thing that I would want to remember with my dream house is that I want it to be lived in. I want there to be toys strewn all over the floor. I want the beds to not always be made. I want to show that fun things are happening and memories are being made and that family is what really matters. I really don't want to live in one of those crazy immaculate houses that you're scared to touch anything in.

And- now I'm off to continue making messes. I'm currently in the middle of making a pie crust for this apple pie that I'm making. So, dancing to Taylor Swift's new CD is definitely a part of that one! I'll post pictures and such of the experience later.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 15

Woah...we're halfway there....

Day 15: Bible Verse(s)

I have several verses that are my favorites. Some of them I have liked for years, and others I have just discovered.

I have a life verse (verse I have claimed for my life, sums up what I think its all about kind of thing) and that is Micah 6:8. 

and this is what he requires of you:

to do what is right, to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with your God.

-Micah 6:8

Another I have recently discovered and am working on is Psalm 34:4. It reads, "I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears." I am trying to remember this one and say it to myself when I start to get anxious about something. I know that God has a plan for my life and he will deliver me from all of my fears. 

When I was in high school, a verse I really embraced was Psalm 45:10-11 which reads, "Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: Forget your people and your father's house. The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." I think it's important for us as girls to remember our inner beauty and how God is simply enthralled with us. Enthralled is one of my favorite words and when I read this verse, I remember that I am a princess and that the King (God) is enthralled with my beauty. He thinks I am amazing and he loves me. Even when my people (the world, media, etc.) say something different than I believe, I don't need to worry because God is on my side. I don't need to wear a certain kind of clothes or dress a certain way, or talk in a certain manner, or do things that don't honor the Lord just because "my people" do them. My numero uno priority? Is honoring the Lord. 

Embracing the inner princess. :)